1984 Brazilian Grand Prix
25 March |officialname = XIII Grande Prêmio do Brasil |circuit = Jacarepaguá |location = Rio de Janeiro, Brazil |circuittype = Permanent racing facility |lapdistance = 5.031 |laps = 61 |distance = 306.891 |pole = Elio de Angelis |polenation = ITA |poleteam = |poletime = 1:28.392 |fastestlap = 1:36.499 |fastestlapdriver = Alain Prost |fastestlapnation = FRA |fastestlapteam = |fastestlapnumber = 42 |winner = Alain Prost |winnernation = FRA |winnerteam = |second = Keke Rosberg |secondteam = |secondnation = FIN |third = Elio de Angelis |thirdteam = |thirdnation = ITA }} The 1984 Brazilian Grand Prix, otherwise officially known as the XIII Grande Prêmio do Brasil was the opening round of the 1984 FIA Formula One World Championship, staged at the Jacarepaguá circuit in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on the 25 March 1984.'Brazilian GP, 1984', grandprix.com, (Inside F1 Inc., 2014), http://www.grandprix.com/gpe/rr389.html, (Accessed 29/01/2019) The race would see Alain Prost inherit victory in the closing stages, while future rival Ayrton Senna made his World Championship debut. Indeed, Senna was one of a number of changes over the winter of , joining Johnny Cecotto at an all new line-up for . Elsewhere, Prost had joined , hired Patrick Tambay and Derek Warwick, while secured the signing of Michele Alboreto. Qualifying would see Elio de Angelis sweep to pole for , beating new Ferrari racer Alboreto by half a second. Warwick, meanwhile, would put his new Renault into third ahead of Prost, while defending Champion Nelson Piquet would open his campaign in seventh. Poor starts from de Angelis and Prost, however, would shuffle the field the moment the lights went out, with Alboreto charging into the lead ahead of Warwick. Nigel Mansell and Niki Lauda also got away well to complete the early top four, while Piquet's season got off to a miserable start as he limped away from the grid well after the rest of the field had charged clear. Alboreto and Warwick would soon inch away at the head of the field, with Lauda leading the chase once he had dealt with Mansell, while de Angelis continued to slip down the order in the #11 Lotus. Prost, meanwhile, was in the ascendancy, and duly found himself back in the top four after moves on René Arnoux, de Angelis, and Tambay, the latter's tyres fading badly towards the end of his stint. Alborto's race was over on lap twelve after a brake failure pitched him into a spin, leaving Lauda in the lead from Warwick, Mansell and Prost. The middle duo would soon find themselves behind the #7 McLaren as the pit stops loomed, although that was to change as a result of the stops. Indeed, Lauda's race would be ended by an electrical failure during his stop, a failure which also cost teammate Prost valuable time in the pits. Mansell also had trouble, retiring soon after, while Arnoux had suffered a battery failure, leaving Warwick in the lead with Prost a distant second. Warwick would duly lead until the closing stages, when a suspension failure ended his race with ten laps to go, a legacy of early contact with Lauda. Prost hence inherited the lead and would go on to win, while Keke Rosberg and de Angelis found themselves on the podium after a late retirement for Tambay. The race would also be noted for the result of Martin Brundle, who claimed a fifth place finish on his debut in the controversial Tyrrell 012. Indeed, Brundle would be retroactively disqualified once the 012 was banned later in the season, meaning Thierry Boutsen claimed his maiden points finish. Background The Formula One World Championship tour would kick-off in the heart of Brazil's second city, Rio de Janeiro and the Jacarepaguá circuit, returning for a fourth consecutive season.A.H., 'Brazilian Grand Prix', motorsportmagazine.com, (Motor Sport Magazine, 01/05/1984), https://www.motorsportmagazine.com/archive/article/may-1984/82/brazilian-grand-prix, (Accessed 29/01/2019) The original plan had been to start the season at the Kyalami Circuit in South Africa, although with the circuit struggling to find a sponsor, FOCA and FISA both agreed to delay the South African Grand Prix for a few weeks.'1. Brazil 1984', statsf1.com, (Stats F1, 2014), http://www.statsf1.com/en/1984/bresil.aspx, (Accessed 29/01/2019) As such, it was the Brazilian Grand Prix that opened the season on the 25 March, almost six months since the campaign had come to a close. Fuelling Freeze In terms of the rules for the 1984 season the FIA had banned re-fuelling during a Grand Prix after safety concerns throughout the previous two seasons. Each car was now given an allocation of 220 litres (49.5 gallons) to cover a Grand Prix distance, meaning engines had to achieve more than four miles to the gallon. This restriction was generally accepted without repute by both teams and manufacturers, and was part of a wider clarification on weight limits. Indeed, a drive to prevent teams illegally running underweight cars during the race had played a significant part in the ban on re-fuelling, with teams such as thought to be starting with an underweight car, and hence added weight via refuelling later in the race. It was therefore theorised that teams would find new ways to attack the "spirit" of the rules, with suggestions of using ballast water tanks a popular rumour. With no restrictions on replacing water during a pit stop it was certainly feasible that a team could add ballast to their cars mid-race. Brabham Browbeating Away from the rule changes and the late start to the season had allowed the majority of the field to enter new cars for the opening round, with a variety of changes throughout the field. Indeed, defending World Champion Nelson Piquet would open his campaign with a new design, the BT53, which included various updates to the old BT52 such as a new alloy monocoque, larger sidepods, revised suspension geometry and carbon fibre panels. Piquet would also get two new teammates, with the Fabi brothers Teo and Corrado sharing the #2 BT53 across the season, with the former getting the nod in Brazil. However, while the Brabham squad would start the season with Piquet as the official defending Champion, there were allegations that the British squad had cheated their way to the title in 1983. These allegations concerned the special fuel developed by Wintershall specifically for the BT52, as well as what the squad were putting into the car during their pitstops. Furthermore, when Brabham boss and FOCA president Bernie Ecclestone reportedly admitted to have cheated throughout 1983, unpopular FISA president Jean-Marie Balestre, previously the arch-nemesis of Ecclestone, waved away any suggestions of a retroactive disqualification, alienating the rest of the field. Racing Revisions Regardless, there would be no further protests against the Brabham squad, with the rest of the field busying themselves with updating and/or replacing their equipment, and revising their driver line-ups. Indeed, defending Constructors Champions arrived in Brazil with new cars and a new driver line-up, with Michele Alboreto drafted in to partner René Arnoux in a pair of Harvey Poslethwaite and Mauro Forghieri designed 126C4s. The new C4 was little more than an evolution of the Italian firm's 1983 car, sporting more carbon fibre, while Enzo Ferrari reportedly broke his own rule against signing an Italian driver to obtain Alboreto's services. Alboreto's switch to Ferrari had been required to fill the seat vacated by Patrick Tambay, who had left the Scuderia to join . It was all change after their dismal end to the 1983 season, with Renault sacking Alain Prost and dropping Eddie Cheever, replacing them with Tambay and the ever improving Derek Warwick. Their new duo were equipped with a heavily redesigned car, the RE50, which featured revised aerodynamics, a composite monocoque and new suspension. Prost, meanwhile, would secure a seat at the revived squad, who had a new car, the MP4/2 as well as the latest generation of the engine developed by . The newest TAG engine was not the most powerful in the field, delivering only 750 bhp, but had superior fuel efficiency which combined well with the MP4/2's more simplified aerodynamic layout, and full carbon fibre monocoque. Prost duly arrived in place of John Watson, who was one of a number of drivers associated with Brabham, while Niki Lauda continued with the team for another season. would test the TG183B at Jacarepaguá at the end of .]]Elsewhere, the young team would start with an all new line-up, with Warwick heading to Renault and Bruno Giacomelli stepping away. They were subsequently replaced by Venezuelan motorcycle Champion Johnny Cecotto, as well as reigning British Formula 3 Championship Champion Ayrton Senna. The two rookies were equipped with an updated version of the TG183B for the start of the season, with continuing to supply the team with engines. Another team with an all new driver line-up were , who opted to field two debutantes for the season, namely Martin Brundle and Stefan Bellof. They would be using the 012 design introduced in 1983, although they had the added bonus of being the primary engined team. Unfortunately for them Ford and Cosworth refused to develop a turbocharged engine for F1, and so Tyrrell were given the latest evolution of the DFV V8, dubbed the "DFY" for the season, with another difficult season ahead. Indeed, only one other team would use the Cosworth engine at the start of the season, that being and their unchanged car, the A6. They also had an unchanged driver line-up of Marc Surer and Thierry Boutsen, although they were known to have a BMW engined car in development to replace the A6. , meanwhile, were another team fielding an unchanged driver line-up, although Keke Rosberg and Jacques Laffite would use the same engined FW09s introduced late in 1983 after losing faith in the old V8. Cosworth's former champions , meanwhile, would switch to power for 1984, with Elio de Angelis and Nigel Mansell hoping turbo power would revive their fortunes after the ban on ground effect at the end of . Indeed, the new 95T saw various small improvements over its predecessor, the 94T, which had effectively served as a testbed for the new car at the end of 1983. A new fuel tank, revised suspension geometry and Goodyear sourced tyres were the major changes, with the car running well at the pre-season test at Kyalami. had also abandoned Cosworth power ahead of the 1984 campaign, signing a deal with Renault as well as a new sponsor, Loto. They also had a new design, the JS23, while they had also secured a new driver line-up in the form of Andrea de Cesaris and François Hesnault. The new car itself was fairly up-to-date and on-par with its equivalents, sporting a carbon fibre monocoque and Ferrari style rear wing. Elsewhere the factory squad run by Euro Racing had lost their sponsorship from Marlboro, and so would instead run in the colours of Benetton, a sponsor poached from Tyrrell. The team would also have two new faces at the wheel, with de Cesaris and Mauro Baldi replaced by Riccardo Patrese and Cheever, refugees from Brabham and Renault respectively. Their new car, the 184T would use the incredibly inefficient turbo V8 built by Alfa, but would sport a carbon fibre monocoque. Baldi, meanwhile, would secure a seat at Spirit Racing for new season, with the British squad switching to Hart engines after losing their development contract with Honda. were also using Hart engines for 1984, fielding a new line-up in Philippe Alliot and Jonathan Palmer, while the team also introduced a new car, the 02. Completing the field would be the lone entered for Manfred Winkelhock using a BMW engine, as well as the now Alfa powered for Piercarlo Ghinzani. Entry List The full entry list for the is shown below: Practice Overview Qualifying Qualifying for the 1984 edition of the Brazilian Grand Prix would see the field get two days to qualify for the race, with the afternoons of Friday and Saturday dedicated to setting the grid. Indeed, between those two sessions there would be three hours of running, while the mornings of each day would see drivers free to experiment with race setups, although most would, as ever, focus on outright pace. As for a target time the recent turbo arms war had seen times steadily slip back towards those set with ground-effect cars, meaning Alain Prost's quali record of 1:28.808, set in 1982 was a realistic goal for the top teams. Friday Qualifying Indeed, those hoping to see Prost's old record fall were almost appeased during the Friday quali session, for Nigel Mansell would end the day with provisional pole having recorded a 1:29.394. Indeed, the new engined proved to be a forced to be reckoned with in the opening qualifying session of the season, with Elio de Angelis another strong runner, recording a 1:29.625. The pair would run with different aero levels too, with de Angelis preferring higher downforce, while Mansell searched for top speed. Elsewhere, defending Champion, and Jacarepaguá specialist Nelson Piquet would throw away his best effort of the day, running onto the grass while on course to split the two Loti. Michele Alboreto also looked strong in the new , although it was Prost who ultimately got closest to the black-gold cars at the end of the day, claiming a 1:29.823. Alboreto himself was next, just a thousandth ahead of Niki Lauda, while Patrick Tambay ended the session best of the rest as the first of those in the 1:30.000s. Indeed, both Tambay and Derek Warwick would struggle to find a good balance during the opening session with the new s, although they seemed to be getting stronger throughout the day. René Arnoux, meanwhile, was battling an intermittent fault on his engine that prevented him from challenging, while the two s spent the session demolishing their engines and turbos. Elsewhere there were already some murmurs of discontent among those using Pirelli tyres, which were struggling in the heat of the late Brazilian summer. Saturday Qualifying Saturday would again see Lotus emerge at the head of the field, with de Angelis fine tuning his aero-balance throughout the session. That ultimately paid dividends, for the Italian ace duly smashed Prost's old record late in the day, recording a 1:28.392 to go over half a second clear of the rest of the field. Mansell, meanwhile, would be denied the chance to respond as his engine was suffering from overheating, meaning he had to sit and watch as he slipped down the order. Indeed, before the end of the day Alboreto, Warwick and Prost would all slot in ahead of the #12 Lotus, with the former also the only man other than de Angelis to post a sub-1:29.000 time. Warwick, meanwhile, would opt to use a higher downforce package that had been trialled by Renault in the pre-race test, and duly found that his RE50 could actually make it round a corner without understeering off. Prost, meanwhile, was a content fourth after having a lap spoiled by Mansell, with the Frenchman getting something akin to revenge later on when the Brit suffered a huge spin when trying to dive in between the Frenchman's and Andrea de Cesaris. who proved to be the best of the rookies in Brazil.]]Elsewhere were well off the pace, with Keke Rosberg battling horrendous understeer as a result of the FW09s updated rear-end. He ended the session just ahead of Arnoux, who had to abandon his race car mid-session after a turbo failure, while Jacques Laffite in the second FW09 had trouble with his rev limiter. Best of the rookies would be British F3 Champion Ayrton Senna, who wrestled his around almost two seconds faster than teammate Johnny Cecotto, while Martin Brundle and Stefan Bellof both made the grid. With only twenty-six grid slots on offer one driver was set to missout on a starting slot. That man proved to be another inexperienced driver in the form of Jonathan Palmer, with the Brit two tenths off teammate Philippe Alliot, and almost ten off of de Angelis' pole winning time. Yet, miraculously, Palmer would get to start the race, for Manfred Winkelhock would be disqualified after the session as a result of receiving a push-start during the session. boss Gunther Schmid was the ultimate cause of the exclusion, having made his unedited thoughts on the matter all too clear when the organisers were assessing whether to hand Winkelhock a penalty. Qualifying Results The full qualifying results for the are outlined below: *T Indicates a driver used their test/spare car to set their best time in that session. *'Bold' indicates a driver's best/qualifying time. ** Palmer failed to qualify but was listed as first reserve. *† Winkelhock was excluded from the results of qualifying for receiving a push start. Grid ** de Cesaris was unable to start the race from the grid due to an issue on the formation lap. *† Palmer was promoted onto the grid after Manfred Winkelhock was excluded from the results of qualifying after a push start. Race Raceday proved to be another warm affair, with the ever oppressive heat of the Brazilian summer beating down on the Jacarepaguá circuit. The warm-up would pass without issue, meaning the 25 qualifiers plus Jonathan Palmer would make their way to the grid to take the start. Indeed, it seemed as if the World Championship tour would get underway in perfect fashion, only for a late issue to delay the start. Report Just as the field prepared to take the start, Andrea de Cesaris would begin frantically waving, the gearbox in his seeming to have suddenly been fitted with a selection of neutrals. The start was hence delayed for half an hour, with de Cesaris dragged to the pit lane and told to join the back of the grid. He duly rejoined the field as they completed their second parade lap half an hour later, with one lap removed from the race distance. At the second time of asking the lights would go from red to green, although there would still be cars stranded on the grid. Indeed, as Michele Alboreto charged past pole sitter Elio de Angelis to claim the lead, the home fans would be in uproar, for their hero Nelson Piquet had stalled. Miraculously both the Brazilian World Champion, and Johnny Cecotto managed to avoid getting collected, although would both require a push-start to get underway. and Derek Warwick would scrap during the early stages of the race.]]At the head of the field, meanwhile, de Angelis would quickly get elbowed down the field, with Derek Warwick, Nigel Mansell and Niki Lauda all making their way past. Alboreto, meanwhile, would establish a small lead at the head of the field, and duly held it through to the end of the opening tour. He was chased by Warwick, Mansell, Lauda and de Angelis, with Alain Prost another big loser during the opening lap. The early stages would follow much the same pattern, with Alboreto inching away out front, while Warwick slowly pulled away from Mansell. Indeed, both s were struggling with the heat, for Mansell was powerless to avoid letting Lauda pass, while de Angelis slipped behind Patrick Tambay and Prost. Elsewhere Piquet was slowly catching onto the back of the pack, while his compatriot Ayrton Senna saw his debut curtailed by a turbo failure. Lauda would be the man to watch over the following laps, for the Austrian would barge his way through to second on lap ten, clubbing the front left of Warwick's Renault as he went through. Fortunately both would carry on without seemingly having an issues, with Lauda sprinting away to try and catch Alboreto. Yet, before he could do so the #27 would spin out of the lead at the end of lap twelve, a terminal brake caliper failure ensuring that Alboreto would retire soon after. With that the race would settle down, Lauda easing away from Warwick at the head of the field, while Prost charged through to third with moves on Tambay, de Angelis and Mansell. Indeed, the field would remain stable until the pit window opened, with Warwick coming in at the end of lap 29 to swap his worn Michelins for a fresh set. Yet, such was the pace of the lead trio that the Brit would only slip to third, and duly began to re-catch the two s ahead with his new tyres. debut would come to an early end, in spite of his spirited drive.]]Indeed, when the two McLarens did eventually pit at the end of lap 38, Warwick was able to sweep into the lead before either completed their stops, although this was in-part due to an issue for Lauda. Indeed, the Austrian ace would be forced to stop at the end of the lap after his electrics cut-out midway around the lap, meaning he limped in to retire just ahead of Prost. Unfortunately for Prost his teammate would cost him valuable time in the pits as his car had to be pushed out of the way for the Frenchman's, with Prost screaming back into the race to hunt down Warwick. Once again the race would settle down, with various issues thinning the field during and after the pit stops. Indeed, quick-fire failures saw Piquet, Mansell, Riccardo Patrese and de Cesaris all retire, before Warwick went out with ten laps to go. Unfortunately for the Brit his collision with Lauda early on had weakened a wishbone on his front left, which would subsequently fail after forty laps of strain. Prost was hence left with a commanding lead at the head of the field, with just nine cars still circulating. Tambay, meanwhile, would be the man to inherit second after the retirement rush, although his pace would fall dramatically in the closing laps as his Renault drained the last of its fuel. That allowed the twitchy of Keke Rosberg to close up in the final stages, which duly cruised into second with three laps to go to leave the Frenchman vulnerable to an improving de Angelis. Yet, there would be no more fighting for the rest of the afternoon, for de Angelis would lose engine power late on a drop back from the Finn, while Tambay rolled to a stop with two laps to go having run out of fuel. That left Rosberg clear to follow Prost across the line, the Frenchman looking imperious in his new Mclaren as he won by over 40 seconds. de Angelis would survive well to claim third ahead of Eddie Cheever, while the debuting Martin Brundle claimed fifth ahead of Tambay, Thierry Boutsen, Marc Surer and Palmer. Post-race Immediately after the race boss Jackie Oliver submitted a complaint to the stewards, claiming that the of Brundle had been refuelled during its stop. While that protest was rejected due to a lack of evidence, Oliver's claims were later proved correct at the 1984 Detroit Grand Prix, leading to Brundle and Tyrrell being retroactively disqualified from all Grand Prix. Tambay was hence re-classified in fifth, while Oliver's driver Boutsen was promoted into sixth to claim his maiden points finish. Results The full results for the are outlined below: ** Tambay was still classified despite retiring as he had completed 90% of the race distance. *† Brundle and Bellof were retroactively disqualified following the "ban" of the Tyrrell 012 after the 1984 Detroit Grand Prix. *‡ Winkelhock was excluded from qualifying after receiving a push-start. Milestones * Fifth time that Jacarepaguá had hosted the Brazilian Grand Prix.'1984 Brazilian GP', chicanef1.com, (Chicane F1, 2014), http://www.chicanef1.com/racetit.pl?year=1984&gp=Brazilian%20GP&r=1, (Accessed 29/01/2019) * Debut race for Martin Brundle, Stefan Bellof, Philippe Alliot, Ayrton Senna and François Hesnault. * entered their 200th Grand Prix. * Marc Surer made his 50th Grand Prix start. * Tenth career victory for Alain Prost. * secured their 31st win as a constructor. ** claimed their maiden victory as an engine supplier. ** Also TAG's first podium finish as an engine supplier as well as their first fastest lap. * Maiden points finish for Thierry Boutsen. Standings Unsurprisingly it was Alain Prost who led the Championship after the opening round, leaving Brazil with a three point lead. Keke Rosberg would start the season in second ahead of Elio de Angelis, with Eddie Cheever, Patrick Tambay and Thierry Boutsen collecting the remaining points. The Manufacturers' Championship would see lead the chase after the opening battle, holding a three point lead over . were next ahead of , with and the only other scorers. Only point scoring drivers and constructors are shown. These standings have been modified to show the Championship as it stood after the retroactive disqualification of the 012 and drivers Martin Brundle and Stefan Bellof. References Images and Videos: * F1-history, 'Ayrton Senna (Brazil 1984)', deviantart.com, (DeviantArt, 19/11/2012), https://www.deviantart.com/f1-history/art/Ayrton-Senna-Brazil-1984-338630118, (Accessed 29/01/2019) * F1-history, 'Ayrton Senna (Brazil 1984)', deviantart.com, (DeviantArt, 21/12/2012), https://www.deviantart.com/f1-history/art/Ayrton-Senna-Brazil-1984-343994093, (Accessed 29/01/2019) * F1-history, 'Nigel Mansell | Derek Warwick (Brazil 1984)', deviantart.com, (DeviantArt, 18/09/2012), https://www.deviantart.com/f1-history/art/Nigel-Mansell-Derek-Warwick-Brazil-1984-327885954, (Accessed 29/01/2019) * F1-history, 'Ayrton Senna (Brazil 1984)', deviantart.com, (DeviantArt, 22/12/2012), https://www.deviantart.com/f1-history/art/Ayrton-Senna-Brazil-1984-344141754, (Accessed 29/01/2019) References: Category:Grand Prix articles Category:Brazilian Grand Prix Category:1984 Grands Prix Category:Formula One races in Brazil